GitHub Copilot is a code completion assistant integrated into VS Code and other IDEs, while Cursor is a standalone AI-first code editor built on VS Code that combines an editor with advanced AI features like multi-file editing and natural language refactoring. Cursor offers more comprehensive AI capabilities in one package, while Copilot is broader but requires an existing IDE setup.
GitHub Copilot vs Cursor — Side-by-side comparison on A Versus B
AI code completion extension for VS Code, JetBrains, and Visual Studio by OpenAI/Microsoft.
Desktop IDE (VS Code fork) with integrated native AI assistant and $20/month Pro tier
Base Product Type. Multi-file AI Editing. AI Models Available. Monthly Cost (Individual). IDE Integration Required. Natural Language Refactoring. Free Tier Availability
Choose GitHub Copilot if you're already invested in VS Code or another IDE ecosystem and want affordable AI code completion integrated into your existing workflow. Choose Cursor if you prioritize comprehensive AI-driven development with advanced multi-file editing, flexible model selection, and want an editor purpose-built around AI-assisted coding rather than adding AI to a traditional editor.
GitHub Copilot: 10+ IDEs | Cursor: VS Code-based only
GitHub Copilot: 2-3 minutes | Cursor: 5-10 minutes
GitHub Copilot: Good | Cursor: Excellent
GitHub Copilot: Good | Cursor: Native & Superior
GitHub Copilot: Very Large | Cursor: Growing
GitHub Copilot: 30 days | Cursor: 7 days
GitHub Copilot: 3+ model choices | Cursor: 2 model choices
GitHub Copilot: Minimal (extension) | Cursor: Low (VS Code familiarity)
GitHub Copilot: Copilot Pro $10/mo | Cursor: Cursor Pro $20/mo
GitHub Copilot: Free tier with limited completions/chat, plus free for verified students, teachers, and OSS maintainers | Cursor: Yes — free Hobby tier plus a 2-week Pro trial
GitHub Copilot: Business $19/user/mo (Enterprise $39) | Cursor: Business $40/user/mo
GitHub Copilot: Plugin/extension installed into your existing IDE | Cursor: Standalone editor — a fork of VS Code (install Cursor itself)
GitHub Copilot: Anthropic Claude, OpenAI GPT, Google Gemini (model picker in chat/agent) | Cursor: Anthropic Claude, OpenAI GPT, Google Gemini, plus Cursor fast models (per-request switching)
GitHub Copilot: Agent mode + Copilot Workspace + coding agent (issue-to-PR); strong but tighter loop trails Cursor | Cursor: Composer (Agent) plan-execute-verify loop across many files; runs commands and tests
GitHub Copilot: Repository context, @workspace search, and Enterprise knowledge bases; less aggressive auto-indexing | Cursor: Whole-repo semantic embeddings with automatic relevant-file retrieval; built for monorepos
GitHub Copilot: Very fast, low-latency completions; category pioneer and still excellent inline | Cursor: Very fast predictive Tab completions that jump to the next edit location
GitHub Copilot: Org policy management, SSO, audit logs, content exclusion, data residency, IP indemnification | Cursor: SSO, privacy mode (no retention/training), admin controls, SOC 2
GitHub Copilot: 128,000 tokens | Cursor: 128,000 tokens
GitHub Copilot: Unlimited completions | Cursor: 2 (slow)
GitHub Copilot: 50 | Cursor: 0 (paid tier required)
GitHub Copilot: VS Code, JetBrains, Neovim, Visual Studio, Sublime | Cursor: Cursor only
GitHub Copilot: Copilot (GPT-based, Good) | Cursor: Claude 3.5 Sonnet (Superior)
GitHub Copilot: Limited to current + adjacent files | Cursor: Native @-indexing across entire codebase
GitHub Copilot: 5 major IDEs | Cursor: N/A
GitHub Copilot: Not available | Cursor: N/A
GitHub Copilot: 2 days for new accounts | Cursor: 14 days
GitHub Copilot: October 2023 (~27 months old) | Cursor: N/A
GitHub Copilot: ~1,200,000 | Cursor: N/A
GitHub Copilot: Yes (OpenAI servers) | Cursor: N/A
GitHub Copilot: Deep (PR, commits, issues) | Cursor: N/A
GitHub Copilot: 180 code completions | Cursor: N/A
GitHub Copilot: 15+ editors (VS Code, JetBrains, Vim, Neovim, etc.) | Cursor: N/A
GitHub Copilot: Suggestion-based only, no autonomous execution | Cursor: N/A
GitHub Copilot: OpenAI GPT-4 / Anthropic Claude | Cursor: N/A
GitHub Copilot: ~1200ms average completion | Cursor: N/A
GitHub Copilot: $10/month individual, $19/month business | Cursor: N/A
GitHub Copilot: ~5-10 visible files in editor | Cursor: N/A
GitHub Copilot: GitHub Copilot (proprietary, Codex-based) | Cursor: 3 models
GitHub Copilot: 5+ (VS Code, JetBrains, Visual Studio, Vim, Neovim) | Cursor: N/A
GitHub Copilot: No—suggestions only, manual edit required | Cursor: N/A
GitHub Copilot: 1 (IDE-native, like autocomplete) | Cursor: N/A
GitHub Copilot: No (cloud-only) | Cursor: N/A
Average Response Time for Code Suggestion
GitHub Copilot: 0.5-1 (inline suggestion) | Cursor: N/A
GitHub Copilot: 4+ (VS Code, JetBrains, Visual Studio, Neovim) | Cursor: 1 (VS Code)
GitHub Copilot: Native PR reviews, CLI, GitHub.dev, Copilot X | Cursor: N/A
GitHub Copilot: Data exclusion available (enterprise only) | Cursor: N/A
GitHub Copilot: $120 (monthly) or $100 (annual with 17% discount) | Cursor: N/A
GitHub Copilot: Up to 150 lines | Cursor: N/A
GitHub Copilot: April 2024 | Cursor: N/A
GitHub Copilot: ~15 MB extension | Cursor: N/A
GitHub Copilot: 27% of developers | Cursor: N/A
GitHub Copilot: 2-5 seconds per suggestion | Cursor: N/A
GitHub Copilot: 5 IDE integrations | Cursor: N/A
GitHub Copilot: 20-40% faster on routine tasks | Cursor: N/A
GitHub Copilot: Yes (GitHub Copilot Free) | Cursor: N/A
GitHub Copilot: 2 (GPT-4, Claude) | Cursor: N/A
GitHub Copilot: 4 major (VS Code, Visual Studio, GitHub.com, JetBrains Beta) | Cursor: N/A
GitHub Copilot: 1.5+ million (GitHub official, 2024) | Cursor: N/A
GitHub Copilot: Yes (GitHub Enterprise available) | Cursor: N/A
GitHub Copilot: 2–5 min (GitHub sign-in) | Cursor: 1-2 steps (download IDE)
GitHub Copilot: Mandatory (cloud-based) | Cursor: N/A
GitHub Copilot: 30-day trial only | Cursor: 14-day free trial
GitHub Copilot: 20+ IDEs | Cursor: 1 IDE only
GitHub Copilot: 27 million | Cursor: N/A
GitHub Copilot: 4+ years (2021) | Cursor: 1.5 years (launched Oct 2024)
GitHub Copilot: Plugin only (requires VS Code/JetBrains) | Cursor: N/A
GitHub Copilot: Limited to referenced files | Cursor: N/A
GitHub Copilot: 15+ IDEs | Cursor: Standalone only
GitHub Copilot: 10+ (VS Code, JetBrains, Visual Studio, Neovim, etc.) | Cursor: N/A
GitHub Copilot: GPT-4o / o1 (OpenAI) | Cursor: N/A
GitHub Copilot: $10 or free with GitHub Pro | Cursor: $20
GitHub Copilot: 150-250ms per suggestion | Cursor: 50-200ms (Tab autocomplete)
GitHub Copilot: 80+ languages | Cursor: 40+ languages
GitHub Copilot: 8,000 tokens (~6,000 words) | Cursor: 200,000 tokens
GitHub Copilot: 8+ (VS Code, JetBrains Suite, Vim, Visual Studio, etc.) | Cursor: N/A
GitHub Copilot: 72% correct on HumanEval benchmark | Cursor: N/A
GitHub Copilot: 2-5 seconds (in-editor, no switching) | Cursor: N/A
GitHub Copilot: 8,000 tokens | Cursor: 200KB (Claude)
GitHub Copilot: Code may be retained (opt-out available) | Cursor: N/A
GitHub Copilot: Limited (logs code references) | Cursor: N/A
GitHub Copilot: Limited (generic suggestions) | Cursor: N/A
GitHub Copilot: $100/year or $120 with GitHub Pro | Cursor: N/A
GitHub Copilot: Cloud-only | Cursor: N/A
GitHub Copilot: 2,000 completions | Cursor: N/A
GitHub Copilot: 340ms average | Cursor: N/A
GitHub Copilot: 8,000 | Cursor: 128,000 tokens
GitHub Copilot: Cloud (GitHub servers) | Cursor: N/A
GitHub Copilot: 250,000,000 | Cursor: N/A
GitHub Copilot: 100 chat prompts | Cursor: Unlimited
GitHub Copilot: 2-3 minutes | Cursor: 7-10 minutes
GitHub Copilot: No, single-file awareness | Cursor: Yes, full project indexing
GitHub Copilot: $10 (Pro) or $0 (Limited) | Cursor: N/A
GitHub Copilot: 0.5 minutes | Cursor: N/A
GitHub Copilot: 90+ languages | Cursor: N/A
GitHub Copilot: Integration with VS Code | Cursor: ~15,000 (via VS Code)
GitHub Copilot: 50-100ms per suggestion | Cursor: N/A
GitHub Copilot: Fixed $10 (Copilot Individual) or $19 (Copilot Pro) | Cursor: N/A
GitHub Copilot: Single file at a time | Cursor: N/A
GitHub Copilot: None: requires manual git commands outside Copilot | Cursor: N/A
GitHub Copilot: No: GitHub Copilot model is fixed and proprietary | Cursor: N/A
GitHub Copilot: ~8,000 (estimated Copilot context) | Cursor: N/A
GitHub Copilot: $20/month | Cursor: $20/month
GitHub Copilot: SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001 | Cursor: N/A
GitHub Copilot: Available in all tiers | Cursor: N/A
GitHub Copilot: $10/month | Cursor: $20/month
GitHub Copilot: $100/year | Cursor: $240/year
GitHub Copilot: 2 (GPT-4, GPT-4o) | Cursor: 4+ (GPT-4o, Claude, Gemini, local)
GitHub Copilot: Limited (single file) | Cursor: Native (full project)
GitHub Copilot: 0 (students only) | Cursor: 20 per month
GitHub Copilot: 5+ million | Cursor: 1+ million
GitHub Copilot: 4+ years | Cursor: 2 years
GitHub Copilot: N/A | Cursor: 3 (familiar)
GitHub Copilot: N/A | Cursor: Not publicly disclosed
GitHub Copilot: N/A | Cursor: Not disclosed
GitHub Copilot: N/A | Cursor: Significant but undisclosed
GitHub Copilot: N/A | Cursor: Enterprise-grade
GitHub Copilot: N/A | Cursor: VS Code fork
GitHub Copilot: N/A | Cursor: Baseline (1.0x)
GitHub Copilot: N/A | Cursor: <5 minutes
GitHub Copilot: N/A | Cursor: Proprietary Commercial
GitHub Copilot: N/A | Cursor: Graphical IDE (VS Code fork)
GitHub Copilot: N/A | Cursor: Interactive in-editor coding
GitHub Copilot: N/A | Cursor: ~$20/mo (Pro)
GitHub Copilot: N/A | Cursor: Flat plan with request quota + usage add-ons
GitHub Copilot: N/A | Cursor: Monthly fast-request quota
GitHub Copilot: N/A | Cursor: Multi-model (Claude, GPT, Gemini, etc.)
GitHub Copilot: N/A | Cursor: Not designed for it
GitHub Copilot: N/A | Cursor: Workspace indexing + @-mentions
GitHub Copilot: N/A | Cursor: Interactive feature building & quick edits
GitHub Copilot: N/A | Cursor: Agent (formerly Composer)
GitHub Copilot: N/A | Cursor: Cursor Tab model
GitHub Copilot: N/A | Cursor: Claude, GPT, Gemini families (frequent day-one additions)
GitHub Copilot: N/A | Cursor: Mature enterprise tier with SSO + privacy mode
GitHub Copilot: N/A | Cursor: macOS, Windows, Linux
GitHub Copilot: N/A | Cursor: Largest AI-IDE community and mindshare
GitHub Copilot: N/A | Cursor: 1200-1500ms
GitHub Copilot: N/A | Cursor: Native Claude integration
GitHub Copilot: N/A | Cursor: Code sent to Anthropic servers
GitHub Copilot: N/A | Cursor: Native support
GitHub Copilot: N/A | Cursor: Desktop (Mac, Windows, Linux)
GitHub Copilot: N/A | Cursor: Claude 3.5 Sonnet, GPT-4, Others
GitHub Copilot: N/A | Cursor: ~500K (estimated based on download trends)
GitHub Copilot: N/A | Cursor: Entire projects (no hard limit)
GitHub Copilot: N/A | Cursor: 200,000 (Claude 3.5 Sonnet)
GitHub Copilot: N/A | Cursor: ~50 (via Claude AI)
GitHub Copilot: N/A | Cursor: Limited (chat requires internet)
GitHub Copilot: N/A | Cursor: 50 premium requests
GitHub Copilot: N/A | Cursor: 70,000+ (VS Code)
GitHub Copilot: N/A | Cursor: 4+ (Claude, GPT-4, local)
GitHub Copilot: N/A | Cursor: Electron (VS Code fork)
GitHub Copilot: N/A | Cursor: Advanced (full workspace)
Primary AI Model Quality (MMBENCH score)
GitHub Copilot: N/A | Cursor: 88 (Claude 3.5)
GitHub Copilot: N/A | Cursor: 1 (Cursor only)
GitHub Copilot: N/A | Cursor: 8000-16000
GitHub Copilot: N/A | Cursor: No (proprietary)
GitHub Copilot: N/A | Cursor: 1 (Cursor IDE only)
GitHub Copilot: N/A | Cursor: 200,000 tokens
GitHub Copilot: N/A | Cursor: No (via extensions only)
GitHub Copilot: N/A | Cursor: 40,000+ (VS Code marketplace)
GitHub Copilot: N/A | Cursor: 5-10 minutes
GitHub Copilot: N/A | Cursor: Limited (basic)
GitHub Copilot: N/A | Cursor: Code, text, file references
GitHub Copilot: N/A | Cursor: Native VS Code-based editor
GitHub Copilot: N/A | Cursor: 1–3 seconds (avg inline suggestion)
GitHub Copilot: N/A | Cursor: Automatic full-project indexing
GitHub Copilot: N/A | Cursor: No native mobile app
GitHub Copilot: N/A | Cursor: Varies by plan (Pro tier higher)
GitHub Copilot: N/A | Cursor: 60-120 minutes
GitHub Copilot: N/A | Cursor: ~500KB+ codebase context
GitHub Copilot: N/A | Cursor: Claude 3.5 Sonnet + GPT-4
GitHub Copilot: N/A | Cursor: Full native support
GitHub Copilot: N/A | Cursor: 5/10 (new IDE)
GitHub Copilot: N/A | Cursor: 50 requests/month
GitHub Copilot: N/A | Cursor: 2 (VSCode + standalone)
GitHub Copilot: N/A | Cursor: Download .dmg/.exe (1-click installer)
GitHub Copilot: N/A | Cursor: Proprietary (not public)
GitHub Copilot: N/A | Cursor: 100,000 tokens/month (Claude only)
GitHub Copilot: N/A | Cursor: VS Code only (or Cursor standalone IDE)
GitHub Copilot: N/A | Cursor: Liveshare integration included
How to choose between GitHub Copilot and Cursor
GitHub Copilot vs Cursor — Structured Comparison Data
Machine-readable comparison dataset for GitHub Copilot vs Cursor. Contains 249 attribute comparisons, 5 FAQ pairs.
GitHub Copilot vs Cursor — Attribute Category Vocabulary
Taxonomy of attribute categories used to classify comparison data for GitHub Copilot vs Cursor.
Can I use GitHub Copilot without switching my IDE?
Yes. GitHub Copilot is an extension that works within your existing IDE—VS Code, JetBrains (IntelliJ, PyCharm, etc.), Visual Studio, Neovim, and 10+ others. You don't need to change your development environment.
Does Cursor have a free trial or free tier?
Yes. Cursor offers 20 free premium completions per month and periodic trial credits. You can test the Pro features without committing to a subscription, though extensive use requires a paid plan.
Can GitHub Copilot edit multiple files at once?
No. GitHub Copilot works primarily within a single file with limited cross-file context. For multi-file refactoring, you'll need to make changes file-by-file or use Cursor, which natively supports project-wide editing.
GitHub Copilot uses OpenAI's GPT-4 and GPT-4o models. You cannot switch to other models like Claude or Gemini. Cursor offers model flexibility as a selling point.
Cursor is built on the same open-source VS Code foundation and supports most VS Code extensions, making it a drop-in replacement for many developers. However, it's a distinct product optimized for AI-assisted development rather than a pure VS Code alternative.
How to Choose Between GitHub Copilot and Cursor
Base Product Type: GitHub Copilot has Code completion extension for IDEs, while Cursor has Standalone AI-first editor.
Multi-file AI Editing: GitHub Copilot has Limited to single-file context awareness, while Cursor has Native multi-file project-wide editing.
AI Models Available: GitHub Copilot has GPT-4, GPT-4o (OpenAI), while Cursor has GPT-4o, Claude 3.5 Sonnet, Gemini Pro.
Monthly Cost (Individual): GitHub Copilot has $10 per month or $100/year, while Cursor has $20 per month (Pro).
IDE Integration Required: GitHub Copilot has Yes (VS Code, JetBrains, Visual Studio), while Cursor has No (standalone editor).
Natural Language Refactoring: GitHub Copilot has Basic inline suggestions only, while Cursor has Advanced multi-file refactoring with 'cmd+k'.
Free Tier Availability: GitHub Copilot has Yes (limited to students/educators), while Cursor has Yes (20 free completions/month + trials).